Memorable teachers have a rationale or teaching philosophy that guides them to develop a learning environment that has a lasting impact on many of their students. The characteristics of such a learning environment could take years to refine in the face of many obstacles and negative pressures. Your guiding vision is an essential beacon for growing as a teacher!
How does a teacher develop a durable vision of his or her teaching. You were asked to reflect on what inspired you to teach and begin working on this vision in the first weeks of EDC 430. After observing your CT's classes, you were asked to refine this vision again at the end of the Fall semester. Now that you are a more experienced classroom teacher and are preparing to compete for a science teaching position, it is a good time to reflect on your observations and experiences that occurred over the year and refine and clarify your vision by considering these questions:
What kind of teacher do you want to be? What kind of teacher do you NOT want to be?
What lasting impact do you want have on each of your students?
What are you going to strive to accomplish in your upcoming teaching position?
How will your learning environment express your beliefs about teaching?
To prepare for this task, I have assembled some of your writings and observations along with your current teaching rationale. After considering these past writings, you can refine your rationale by clicking on the little "edit" button on the right side of the last section at the bottom of this page. If it is no longer applicable, you may choose to delete or update your iBrainstorm graphic if it is still at the bottom of your rationale statement.
Teaching Inspiration
Looking back at my life so far, there have been two distinct instances that have inspired me to become a teacher. Many people knew they wanted to teach ever since they were little, but that is not the case for me. I do not have any family that are teachers, so never really considered the occupation. Instead, it has been through my life experiences that I saw my potential to be a teacher. The two experiences that I think influenced me the most to pursue a future in education are tutoring a small group when I was sixteen, and having some particularly excellent science teachers who have made an impact on my life.
I was first inspired to teach by teaching a small group. When I was sixteen I was asked to tutor my two fourteen year old cousins in Earth Science so they could pass the NYS Regents exam at the end of the summer. This posed two main challenges for me: 1- Getting the girls to take the situation seriously being taught by their cousin and studying in the middle of the hot summer and 2- getting them over their fear of the test they already once failed, and try to get them to enjoy the subject they feel is unimportant. I learned how being a teacher doesn't just mean giving facts, but rather facilitating learning by putting the knowledge into more familiar terms to them. I remember trying to teach them how to date the layers of rocks, so I drew a connection to something they knew by comparing a conglomerate rock to a chocolate chip cookie, obviously the chocolate chips and other ingredients existed before the entire cookie, and therefore were older. I was amazed at how drawing comparisons like that seemed to be effective. When going over answers, my cousins didn't just spit out memorized facts, they thought about it using the same thought processes I modeled, eventually leading them to the right answer choices. I couldn't believe the sense of accomplishment I felt for them as they were demonstrating understanding- I think I was more happy than they were! I was proud that I had done that, I had made those connections and given them the confidence they needed to pass their exam at the end of the summer. It was this experience that opened my eyes to teaching, since not only did I get joy out of helping these students, but their passing scores meant that I was actually decent at it. I will always remember the patience I discovered that I had that summer, and hope to keep for the rest of my teaching career.
Over the years I have had various teachers that now stand out in my memory, and of those teachers, most of them taught science. Two years after my experience tutoring, I met my AP Biology teacher. Ms. Neri took learning a difficult subject matter and broke down the material in ways that paced our class while trying to learn it all before the AP exam. She was strict, which I admired, but also very funny and maintained classroom control while being so. She made nerdy jokes that only when you understood the material you would get. She had us write and sing songs, dances, and even cooked food in the middle of 11th period on a bunson burner to show us how asparagus effects the scent of your urine. She took hands on learning to a new level, making us get out of our seats often. We had a "meiosis hoe down" where we swung our sister chromatid round and round and danced our ways through the steps of meiosis. She had us send postcards if we went away, and had to relate the picture to science for extra credit. We dissected pig fetus' when learning about anatomy. I think I got more out of that class than most others I've ever taken, and I was inspired how she took an advanced 11th and 12th grade class and had us singing and dancing our way to the AP test, using more differential instruction and giving so many learning opportunities to diverse learners than I've ever experienced before in a science classroom. At the end of the year, I not only admired her, I saw a person that I wanted to be and a career that I wanted to have. I loved that she was teaching material as well as sculpting us into creative, intelligent, confident individuals. Ms. Neri made me more proud of myself than I had ever been at that point in my life, because she taught me how I could be successful. Through her methods of teaching she walked my entire class to passing AP scores, something we ultimately did on our own and felt the rewards for. I hope to capture this inspiring teacher's creativity in my lesson plans. I hope to be a Ms. Neri when I become a teacher by giving my students the power of knowledge and the confidence they need to be successful not only on the AP test, but for the rest of their lives.
These experiences have taught me patience, the creativity to use different modes of delivery in order to reach different types of learners, and how to make connections with students. These three aspects are ones I hope to keep in my teaching methods throughout my life. These are the experiences that have together brought me here, and will continue to shape how I teach.
CT's Teaching Style
Observation/reflection 3: A matter of style During this visit, you should work with one or more groups of students if you haven't already, and observe your teacher doing the same. For this journal entry, describe your teacher's teaching style. What type of relationships with students does he or she nurture in his or her classes? How do students perceive that power is distributed in the classes? Does this vary within or across the different classes the teacher has? Cite examples from your observations to support your inferences. Remember to reflect on what style of teaching you will gravitate toward and the how you want to be perceived by your students.
Observations:
Ms. Malone mostly uses the direct instruction teaching method. She does so in a very calm, thorough, and kind way, but steers clear of trying to become too friendly with her students. She is their teacher and demands respect while she instructs them on exactly what to do, what will happen if they don't participate, and shows them why it's important to do so. At the beginning of class Ms. Malone reviewed the last lab the class did and asked the students questions on important facts. The students all followed along and participated. She then handed out a new lab and went over the instructions very carefully, making sure every student understood the purpose, procedure, and safety rules. She has the class breakup into groups of three and told them there was an even amount to do so. As the students walked to their lab tables she made sure every group consisted of 3 students, and made sure every student grabbed a pair of safety goggles. She explained to the students that it was absolutely mandatory they wear the goggles due to the fact that they were working with chemicals, boiling water, and glass. Ms. Malone also shared a story of a student yesterday who refused to wear the goggles and was sent to the principals office and received a grade of a zero on that lab. She warned the class that the same would happen to them should they choose to remove their goggles during the lab. She also gave them the option to first ask, and then step outside into the hall to adjust them if they were getting foggy. She then reminded the class that everything she went over was provided in more detail in their labs, should they have any questions. She explains to the class that at each lab table a different experiment will be done, and has labeled the lab tables accordingly. She also tells them that there will probably only be enough time to do one experiment today and they will finish next time they meet. During the lab Ms. Malone walks from lab grup to lab group making sure every student was wearing their goggles, using the equipment appropriately, and working at the task at hand. Whenever Ms. Malone thinks of something she hasn't mentioned, she does so for everyone to hear. As Ms. Malone walks around, the students ask her questions pertaining to the lab. They are clearly respectful and know what to talk about during class time. Ms. Malone is nice to her students but definitely asserts the classroom rules. During cleanup she reminds the class that there should only be one person from every group over at the sink, and that only one person can wash at a time so the rest should form a line.
After class Ms. Malone tells me that from the first day of class she requires respect and will not deal with any name calling etc.. She says that by the time the year is over, there may be some honors students who do not like her at all due to the difficulty of the class, and that she is fine with that. She believes she is their teacher and not their friend and if you let them believe they are your friends, they begin to take you less and less seriously and take advantage of you.
Although Ms. Malone teaches various classes throughout the day, she maintains her beliefs and this demeanor. In honors biology, inquiry biology, and anatomy class, the students constantly show varying levels of respect. Ms. Malone repeatedly asserts classroom rules, the consequences and delivers her lessons directly and concisely. In doing this, she always remembers to be kind and genuine towards her students without allowing them to take advantage of her.
Reflections:
Ms. Malone has been teaching for ten years and it is clear that she has found a teaching style that fits her, and her students. She always includes just the right amount of discipline and support for her students. She teaches mostly honors classes, but I can't even attribute this to her outstanding classroom control because she is just as successful managing her inquiry class that includes many students with behavioral problems and IEPs. I admire how her balance of direct instruction and strictness matched with kindness and support works in the classroom so successfully. I would love to incorporate this demeanor into my own teaching philosophy because it exemplifies a working classroom so well. The only thing I would like to bring more into my own classroom is some stronger teacher- student relationships. I plan to ask my students more how they are doing and get to know them. I understand students may begin to take advantage of this, but I feel I will figure out a way to balance this with the necessary strictness and regimented rules of the classroom just as Ms. Malone has learned to balance her kindness with. Most of the classes Ms. Malone teaches are honors classes with advanced students in them, so I support her use of assertive discipline and direct instruction because that is what these students need. They thrive on instructions and knowing exactly what is expected of them and that is how they got into these classes in the first place. I believe they succeed in clear environments with rules and consequences and opportunities to succeed and that is exactly what Ms. Malone has provided for them. As a science teacher who hopes to one day teach honors or AP students, I will definitely keep in mind the successful use of these more direct and strict teaching methods and plan to implement them to some extent in my classroom.
Class Topic: organic compounds lab continued...
Grade: 10th and 11th
Observed by: Kathryn Capone
CT's Classroom Management
Observation / Reflection #4:Be Quiet! I'm Trying To Talk!
In this observation, pay attention to how your teacher manages his or her classroom. What types of disruptions, if any, occur while you're visiting? How do they set the class in motion? How do they deal with interruptions (from the outside) and disruptions (from their students)? Determine whether there are students in the classes that you will teach that are especially troublesome. Ask your CT how he or she addresses these students' needs. Reflect on your "vision" of an ideal science classroom. What classroom policies will you try to implement in YOUR classroom? How does your vision align with your teaching philosophy?
Observations:
During this observation, I was focusing in on the interruptions and disruptions my CT encountered throughout a normal class period and how she dealt with them. The first disruption I noticed in the classroom was a student saying sarcastically "this is SO easy" referring to an inquiry activity the class was participating in. The teacher quickly replied " if it's so easy, why don't you go up to the front of the class and teach it?". The class watched as this boy who called out now grew embarrassed. The next disruption occurred when Ms. Malone was instructing the students to bring in an egg the following day for extra credit. As she began her sentence "tomorrow I need you to bring in...", one of the male students in the front row shouted "a dead body!". Ms. Malone understood the student was obviously joking but she delivered a disproving look followed by saying "No...I need you to bring in an egg, I'm not sure why you want to bring in a dead body or how you would get one, but I don't want to know". Another disruption Ms. Malone encountered was a student walking in late past the bell. Ms. Malone had this student turn right back around and get a note from the office explaining why he was late. The student did as he was told and the class was only paused for a moment. The only interruptions Ms. Malone faced this day were various loud speaker announcements in the middle of class. There was a blood drive at school this day and so somebody would come on the loudspeaker every twenty minutes or so to call a new group down. Although it was quite irritating Ms. Malone would only pause for the students to hear the announcement, and then go right on teaching her lesson. While listening, the teacher held eye contact with the class so the students k ew to stay focused until it was over. These were the interruptions and disruptions that Ms. Malone experienced this day of observing in her classroom.
Reflections:
I feel that the teacher in this case maintained control of the classroom by staying on top of the class behaviors, and reprimanding where necessary. I noticed that the disruptions that occurred within the classroom, Ms. Malone addreses and corrected, whereas interruptions from outside the classroom were ignored if possible. I liked this technique because the teacher addressed the issues she had control over but ignored the ones she had no control over. By doing this she successfully created a serious working environment inside the classroom where the students were on task and following directions. She kept the students on task with constant reminders, modeling good behavior, and teaching the students to not become distracted by outside noise and interruptions.
Ms. Malone was faced with a situation or two where proper management of the class was in jeopardy. In each situation she used a management technique that brought the class back under her control. For example, when a student called out to finish her sentence innappropriately, she gave him a look that communicated that she thought he was being silly and immature. She did not yell and her look did not make the boy feel stupid or embarrassed, it was just disproving and reiterating that she was trying to teach the class and he interrupted her with a silly comment. In her response she also addressed that she didn't know why he said that or where he would get that from, which maintained her role as the teacher because although he was not serious, he did refer to a body, so Ms. Malone made a responsible teacher move to remove herself from the topic of the situation. In another situation, Ms. Malone used maintaining eye contact in order to maintain class control. I witnessed first-hand how a simple action such as facing the class, has the ability to keep them calm and on task. When a student walked in late, Ms. Malone addressed this misbehavior by sending him back to the office to get a note. Since this is school policy, the teacher showed the students that she follows the school rules and does not accept students walking in late. Having the whole class witness this will hopefully work as a preventative in the future with other students. In the instance of the student commenting on the difficulty level of a task, Ms. Malone did embarrass him, however, he was calling out which he knew he shouldn't be doing, and he also was saying a potentially hurtful comment. By calling him out it put the student in his place and exemplified for the rest of the class that you shouldn't make fun, or call out. Overall Ms. Malone exemplified how simple techniques, such as eye contact, matched with preventative measures, and following through with consequences, can be used together to manage classroom disruptions and interruptions.
Class topic: Cell structure and function
Grade level: 10th and 11th grade
Observed by: Kathryn Capone
Game of School Reflection
Observation / Reflection #5: The Game of School
In The Passionate Teacher, Ron Fried describes the Game of School (GOS) as what happens when teachers and students forsake intellectual work and instead engage in their classes as rituals. Take this opportunity to consider this chapter in light of some of the the other experiences that you've had this semester. What elements of the game of school are you seeing in your placements? How have you seen teachers fight the game of school in their classes? What similarities, if any, did you see between the descriptions of American classes in the Teaching Gap and the Game of School? Finally, what impact will this description of the GOS have on your own approach to teaching as expressed in your teaching philosophy?
Observations:
In my placement, there are a few things I have noticed that resemble the game of school. For one, the students get into a routine and know what to do when they come into each class. This is actually a good infuence of the game of school. Another aspect is how the students just expect to be taught everything they will need to know on tests and do not take much responsibility for their learning. This is a one of the big differences between high school and college. My CT resists this by trying to communicate with the students that they need to individually study and review everything they do in class in order to learn it. She also constantly reminds them that they need to break up the work and study a little each night before the test. The students also think that as long as they have their notebook out and generally look like they have a clue what is going on, that the teacher will think so too. My CT resists this by reading clues students give her that they are paying attention like asking questions, nodding etc.. She comments that when a student is quiet all class, or avoids eye contact, that they might be off in their own land so to bring them back by either making eye contact, or asking if they understand, or asking a question referencing the lesson. A final way my CT resists aspects of the game of school is by not scaling the grading and giving students the letter grade that is best represented by their tests, quizzes and classwork. This sometimes raises conflict when a student receives a grade that he or she doesn't believe they deserve but with all the grades available to reference back on, Ms. Malone can show the student where their grade came from. By doing this, the student learns the hard way that their teacher follows the grade breakdown strictly, and that they must put in more effort than they have been in order to succeed in this class.
Reflections:
I think that by being a strict honors teacher, my CT gets her point across that by being in these more challenging classes, the game of school will not work. The students signed a contract in the beginning of the year that proved they acknowledged the fact thatbthisnis a more challenging class and they must be willing as students to put in more effort than they have been required to do so in the past. Taking an honors class requires that the student gives up habits of "appearing" to be engaged and actually try. Ms. Malone follows the schools policy on rules and regulations, as well as expects the most from her students. In this way, she resists the game of school and communicates to the students that they will not float by and get an A if they are only willing to put in the minimum amount of work required. Upon reading about the game of school, I learned as a teacher how simple techniques can communicate to the students that they must give a valiant effort. As a semi recent high school graduate, I hope to recognize ways students will cut corners, cheat, and slack off. By remembering common trends of students, I hope to be preventative in my actions and only reactive if I see something occurring in front of me. I plan to minimize cell phone usage by making sure eye contact is made with each individual student. I plan to check that students are on task by asking thought provoking questions, and I plan to give home works and assignments that foster higher level of blooms taxonomy thinking so students cannot copy and cheat.
Class Topic: skull anatomy
Grade: 12th
Observed by: Kathryn Capone
Rules of Engagement
I agree and disagree with many aspects of this blog. First off, these claims aren't specified for a certain age group. High school students, especially those in the higher grades, are almost programmed at this point to recognize rules and either follow them, or not and face the consequences. Certain students really need rules and feel more comfortable if they are aware of them. For this reason I believe certain classroom rules are necessary to post or go over in the beginning of the year at least once. Ensuring students follow them is up to the teacher. If he/ she allows the students to not follow the rules they posted, then they shouldn't expect the students to follow these rules in the future. By not consistently renforcing the rules a teacher wasted his/ her time by even posting them. In this way, I agree with the blog post in that it's more about reinforcing the rules during class time and by using engaging activities. The characteristics of engaging activities were also accurate in my opinion however I do not agree that worksheets themselves are disengaging. Worksheets are not the activity, they usually just include directions for the activity at hand. All in all, I believe it is the combination of the enforcement of rules, together with an engaging activity that really ensure the students have the highest academic success.
Interesting points about both rules and worksheets. Why do you think the authors were critical of worksheets? Now that you have some experience, what distinguishes an engaging worksheet from a disengaging one?- fogleman
Revise YOUR TEACHING RATIONALE BY CLICKING ON THE EDIT BUTTON BELOW
Teaching is a passionate field, and my hopes as a teacher are to inspire, model, facilitate, and open doors for my students they didn't even know were there. One of my mail goals is to show my students that I'm devoted to being a good teacher and I want to be there each day, guiding them. I hope to build a positive relationship with each and every student so that they know I care about their progress which will motivate them to try hard and be successful in my class.
My teaching philosophy includes two aspects, goals for me, and goals for my students and classroom. Some of my personal goals as a teacher are to ask more questions than I give answers, and to engage the students with the content of the lesson. By asking more questions I hope to dig into their curiosities and have them formulate their own answers based on prior knowledge. I hope to engage the students by connecting the subject matter to their lives so they can draw connections with themselves and the material they are responsible to learn. I also want to have patience. An impatient teacher creates an uptight environment where students may be afraid to answer a question in fear it will be wrong. I think all of these things are especially important to me and would fill my final desire to have my students enjoy the subject that I teach them.
As a teacher I find it important that students develop confidence in themselves. I hope to do this by modeling and coaching them along the way, but an important step in my teaching philosophy is to eventually step back. In doing so, I hope my teaching has been enough for the students to perform on their own. This is especially important if I plan on teaching an AP Biology class because eventually the students will have to pass the AP test without my help. I hope my teaching will create an "I can do it!" spirit and attitude towards any major science tests, and in life. I also believe students need to become critical thinkers, such an important aspect in the science field. I want students not just to look at a question and answer it, I want them to wonder why? and what if I did this differently? or how would A affect B? By becoming a critical thinker they will develop an inquiring mind where every problem is an interesting investigation waiting to be solved and scientifically proven. It's important students are able to communicate their thinking and solutions to problems clearly and correctly because I feel the process is just as important as the outcome. Students should create hypotheses that they can properly investigate using the scientific method to do so. Also, I'm eager to develop an understanding of how what they do in my class applies to the real world. I remember often thinking in school "when will I ever need to do this again?", which demotivates students to learn. I want to radiate that knowledge is power and by learning about science they are learning for the rest of their lives, not just for a certain test in the near future.
This will all hopefully further student's understanding of science and change their lives forever. Maybe they will decide to become brain surgeons one day, or maybe even a rocket scientist.
The following is my ibrainstorm project. I drew it as a sun and flowers because I hope that my goals as a teacher will radiate out and promote the growth and development of my students in the following ways:
Rationale Synthesis
Memorable teachers have a rationale or teaching philosophy that guides them to develop a learning environment that has a lasting impact on many of their students. The characteristics of such a learning environment could take years to refine in the face of many obstacles and negative pressures. Your guiding vision is an essential beacon for growing as a teacher!
How does a teacher develop a durable vision of his or her teaching. You were asked to reflect on what inspired you to teach and begin working on this vision in the first weeks of EDC 430. After observing your CT's classes, you were asked to refine this vision again at the end of the Fall semester. Now that you are a more experienced classroom teacher and are preparing to compete for a science teaching position, it is a good time to reflect on your observations and experiences that occurred over the year and refine and clarify your vision by considering these questions:
To prepare for this task, I have assembled some of your writings and observations along with your current teaching rationale. After considering these past writings, you can refine your rationale by clicking on the little "edit" button on the right side of the last section at the bottom of this page. If it is no longer applicable, you may choose to delete or update your iBrainstorm graphic if it is still at the bottom of your rationale statement.
I was first inspired to teach by teaching a small group. When I was sixteen I was asked to tutor my two fourteen year old cousins in Earth Science so they could pass the NYS Regents exam at the end of the summer. This posed two main challenges for me: 1- Getting the girls to take the situation seriously being taught by their cousin and studying in the middle of the hot summer and 2- getting them over their fear of the test they already once failed, and try to get them to enjoy the subject they feel is unimportant. I learned how being a teacher doesn't just mean giving facts, but rather facilitating learning by putting the knowledge into more familiar terms to them. I remember trying to teach them how to date the layers of rocks, so I drew a connection to something they knew by comparing a conglomerate rock to a chocolate chip cookie, obviously the chocolate chips and other ingredients existed before the entire cookie, and therefore were older. I was amazed at how drawing comparisons like that seemed to be effective. When going over answers, my cousins didn't just spit out memorized facts, they thought about it using the same thought processes I modeled, eventually leading them to the right answer choices. I couldn't believe the sense of accomplishment I felt for them as they were demonstrating understanding- I think I was more happy than they were! I was proud that I had done that, I had made those connections and given them the confidence they needed to pass their exam at the end of the summer. It was this experience that opened my eyes to teaching, since not only did I get joy out of helping these students, but their passing scores meant that I was actually decent at it. I will always remember the patience I discovered that I had that summer, and hope to keep for the rest of my teaching career.
Over the years I have had various teachers that now stand out in my memory, and of those teachers, most of them taught science. Two years after my experience tutoring, I met my AP Biology teacher. Ms. Neri took learning a difficult subject matter and broke down the material in ways that paced our class while trying to learn it all before the AP exam. She was strict, which I admired, but also very funny and maintained classroom control while being so. She made nerdy jokes that only when you understood the material you would get. She had us write and sing songs, dances, and even cooked food in the middle of 11th period on a bunson burner to show us how asparagus effects the scent of your urine. She took hands on learning to a new level, making us get out of our seats often. We had a "meiosis hoe down" where we swung our sister chromatid round and round and danced our ways through the steps of meiosis. She had us send postcards if we went away, and had to relate the picture to science for extra credit. We dissected pig fetus' when learning about anatomy. I think I got more out of that class than most others I've ever taken, and I was inspired how she took an advanced 11th and 12th grade class and had us singing and dancing our way to the AP test, using more differential instruction and giving so many learning opportunities to diverse learners than I've ever experienced before in a science classroom. At the end of the year, I not only admired her, I saw a person that I wanted to be and a career that I wanted to have. I loved that she was teaching material as well as sculpting us into creative, intelligent, confident individuals. Ms. Neri made me more proud of myself than I had ever been at that point in my life, because she taught me how I could be successful. Through her methods of teaching she walked my entire class to passing AP scores, something we ultimately did on our own and felt the rewards for. I hope to capture this inspiring teacher's creativity in my lesson plans. I hope to be a Ms. Neri when I become a teacher by giving my students the power of knowledge and the confidence they need to be successful not only on the AP test, but for the rest of their lives.
These experiences have taught me patience, the creativity to use different modes of delivery in order to reach different types of learners, and how to make connections with students. These three aspects are ones I hope to keep in my teaching methods throughout my life. These are the experiences that have together brought me here, and will continue to shape how I teach.
During this visit, you should work with one or more groups of students if you haven't already, and observe your teacher doing the same. For this journal entry, describe your teacher's teaching style. What type of relationships with students does he or she nurture in his or her classes? How do students perceive that power is distributed in the classes? Does this vary within or across the different classes the teacher has? Cite examples from your observations to support your inferences. Remember to reflect on what style of teaching you will gravitate toward and the how you want to be perceived by your students.
Observations:
Ms. Malone mostly uses the direct instruction teaching method. She does so in a very calm, thorough, and kind way, but steers clear of trying to become too friendly with her students. She is their teacher and demands respect while she instructs them on exactly what to do, what will happen if they don't participate, and shows them why it's important to do so. At the beginning of class Ms. Malone reviewed the last lab the class did and asked the students questions on important facts. The students all followed along and participated. She then handed out a new lab and went over the instructions very carefully, making sure every student understood the purpose, procedure, and safety rules. She has the class breakup into groups of three and told them there was an even amount to do so. As the students walked to their lab tables she made sure every group consisted of 3 students, and made sure every student grabbed a pair of safety goggles. She explained to the students that it was absolutely mandatory they wear the goggles due to the fact that they were working with chemicals, boiling water, and glass. Ms. Malone also shared a story of a student yesterday who refused to wear the goggles and was sent to the principals office and received a grade of a zero on that lab. She warned the class that the same would happen to them should they choose to remove their goggles during the lab. She also gave them the option to first ask, and then step outside into the hall to adjust them if they were getting foggy. She then reminded the class that everything she went over was provided in more detail in their labs, should they have any questions. She explains to the class that at each lab table a different experiment will be done, and has labeled the lab tables accordingly. She also tells them that there will probably only be enough time to do one experiment today and they will finish next time they meet. During the lab Ms. Malone walks from lab grup to lab group making sure every student was wearing their goggles, using the equipment appropriately, and working at the task at hand. Whenever Ms. Malone thinks of something she hasn't mentioned, she does so for everyone to hear. As Ms. Malone walks around, the students ask her questions pertaining to the lab. They are clearly respectful and know what to talk about during class time. Ms. Malone is nice to her students but definitely asserts the classroom rules. During cleanup she reminds the class that there should only be one person from every group over at the sink, and that only one person can wash at a time so the rest should form a line.After class Ms. Malone tells me that from the first day of class she requires respect and will not deal with any name calling etc.. She says that by the time the year is over, there may be some honors students who do not like her at all due to the difficulty of the class, and that she is fine with that. She believes she is their teacher and not their friend and if you let them believe they are your friends, they begin to take you less and less seriously and take advantage of you.
Although Ms. Malone teaches various classes throughout the day, she maintains her beliefs and this demeanor. In honors biology, inquiry biology, and anatomy class, the students constantly show varying levels of respect. Ms. Malone repeatedly asserts classroom rules, the consequences and delivers her lessons directly and concisely. In doing this, she always remembers to be kind and genuine towards her students without allowing them to take advantage of her.
Reflections:
Ms. Malone has been teaching for ten years and it is clear that she has found a teaching style that fits her, and her students. She always includes just the right amount of discipline and support for her students. She teaches mostly honors classes, but I can't even attribute this to her outstanding classroom control because she is just as successful managing her inquiry class that includes many students with behavioral problems and IEPs. I admire how her balance of direct instruction and strictness matched with kindness and support works in the classroom so successfully. I would love to incorporate this demeanor into my own teaching philosophy because it exemplifies a working classroom so well. The only thing I would like to bring more into my own classroom is some stronger teacher- student relationships. I plan to ask my students more how they are doing and get to know them. I understand students may begin to take advantage of this, but I feel I will figure out a way to balance this with the necessary strictness and regimented rules of the classroom just as Ms. Malone has learned to balance her kindness with. Most of the classes Ms. Malone teaches are honors classes with advanced students in them, so I support her use of assertive discipline and direct instruction because that is what these students need. They thrive on instructions and knowing exactly what is expected of them and that is how they got into these classes in the first place. I believe they succeed in clear environments with rules and consequences and opportunities to succeed and that is exactly what Ms. Malone has provided for them. As a science teacher who hopes to one day teach honors or AP students, I will definitely keep in mind the successful use of these more direct and strict teaching methods and plan to implement them to some extent in my classroom.
Class Topic: organic compounds lab continued...
Grade: 10th and 11th
Observed by: Kathryn Capone
Observation / Reflection #4:Be Quiet! I'm Trying To Talk!
In this observation, pay attention to how your teacher manages his or her classroom. What types of disruptions, if any, occur while you're visiting? How do they set the class in motion? How do they deal with interruptions (from the outside) and disruptions (from their students)? Determine whether there are students in the classes that you will teach that are especially troublesome. Ask your CT how he or she addresses these students' needs. Reflect on your "vision" of an ideal science classroom. What classroom policies will you try to implement in YOUR classroom? How does your vision align with your teaching philosophy?Observations:
During this observation, I was focusing in on the interruptions and disruptions my CT encountered throughout a normal class period and how she dealt with them. The first disruption I noticed in the classroom was a student saying sarcastically "this is SO easy" referring to an inquiry activity the class was participating in. The teacher quickly replied " if it's so easy, why don't you go up to the front of the class and teach it?". The class watched as this boy who called out now grew embarrassed. The next disruption occurred when Ms. Malone was instructing the students to bring in an egg the following day for extra credit. As she began her sentence "tomorrow I need you to bring in...", one of the male students in the front row shouted "a dead body!". Ms. Malone understood the student was obviously joking but she delivered a disproving look followed by saying "No...I need you to bring in an egg, I'm not sure why you want to bring in a dead body or how you would get one, but I don't want to know". Another disruption Ms. Malone encountered was a student walking in late past the bell. Ms. Malone had this student turn right back around and get a note from the office explaining why he was late. The student did as he was told and the class was only paused for a moment. The only interruptions Ms. Malone faced this day were various loud speaker announcements in the middle of class. There was a blood drive at school this day and so somebody would come on the loudspeaker every twenty minutes or so to call a new group down. Although it was quite irritating Ms. Malone would only pause for the students to hear the announcement, and then go right on teaching her lesson. While listening, the teacher held eye contact with the class so the students k ew to stay focused until it was over. These were the interruptions and disruptions that Ms. Malone experienced this day of observing in her classroom.Reflections:
I feel that the teacher in this case maintained control of the classroom by staying on top of the class behaviors, and reprimanding where necessary. I noticed that the disruptions that occurred within the classroom, Ms. Malone addreses and corrected, whereas interruptions from outside the classroom were ignored if possible. I liked this technique because the teacher addressed the issues she had control over but ignored the ones she had no control over. By doing this she successfully created a serious working environment inside the classroom where the students were on task and following directions. She kept the students on task with constant reminders, modeling good behavior, and teaching the students to not become distracted by outside noise and interruptions.
Ms. Malone was faced with a situation or two where proper management of the class was in jeopardy. In each situation she used a management technique that brought the class back under her control. For example, when a student called out to finish her sentence innappropriately, she gave him a look that communicated that she thought he was being silly and immature. She did not yell and her look did not make the boy feel stupid or embarrassed, it was just disproving and reiterating that she was trying to teach the class and he interrupted her with a silly comment. In her response she also addressed that she didn't know why he said that or where he would get that from, which maintained her role as the teacher because although he was not serious, he did refer to a body, so Ms. Malone made a responsible teacher move to remove herself from the topic of the situation. In another situation, Ms. Malone used maintaining eye contact in order to maintain class control. I witnessed first-hand how a simple action such as facing the class, has the ability to keep them calm and on task. When a student walked in late, Ms. Malone addressed this misbehavior by sending him back to the office to get a note. Since this is school policy, the teacher showed the students that she follows the school rules and does not accept students walking in late. Having the whole class witness this will hopefully work as a preventative in the future with other students. In the instance of the student commenting on the difficulty level of a task, Ms. Malone did embarrass him, however, he was calling out which he knew he shouldn't be doing, and he also was saying a potentially hurtful comment. By calling him out it put the student in his place and exemplified for the rest of the class that you shouldn't make fun, or call out. Overall Ms. Malone exemplified how simple techniques, such as eye contact, matched with preventative measures, and following through with consequences, can be used together to manage classroom disruptions and interruptions.
Class topic: Cell structure and function
Grade level: 10th and 11th grade
Observed by: Kathryn Capone
Observation / Reflection #5: The Game of School
In The Passionate Teacher, Ron Fried describes the Game of School (GOS) as what happens when teachers and students forsake intellectual work and instead engage in their classes as rituals. Take this opportunity to consider this chapter in light of some of the the other experiences that you've had this semester. What elements of the game of school are you seeing in your placements? How have you seen teachers fight the game of school in their classes? What similarities, if any, did you see between the descriptions of American classes in the Teaching Gap and the Game of School? Finally, what impact will this description of the GOS have on your own approach to teaching as expressed in your teaching philosophy?
Observations:
In my placement, there are a few things I have noticed that resemble the game of school. For one, the students get into a routine and know what to do when they come into each class. This is actually a good infuence of the game of school. Another aspect is how the students just expect to be taught everything they will need to know on tests and do not take much responsibility for their learning. This is a one of the big differences between high school and college. My CT resists this by trying to communicate with the students that they need to individually study and review everything they do in class in order to learn it. She also constantly reminds them that they need to break up the work and study a little each night before the test. The students also think that as long as they have their notebook out and generally look like they have a clue what is going on, that the teacher will think so too. My CT resists this by reading clues students give her that they are paying attention like asking questions, nodding etc.. She comments that when a student is quiet all class, or avoids eye contact, that they might be off in their own land so to bring them back by either making eye contact, or asking if they understand, or asking a question referencing the lesson. A final way my CT resists aspects of the game of school is by not scaling the grading and giving students the letter grade that is best represented by their tests, quizzes and classwork. This sometimes raises conflict when a student receives a grade that he or she doesn't believe they deserve but with all the grades available to reference back on, Ms. Malone can show the student where their grade came from. By doing this, the student learns the hard way that their teacher follows the grade breakdown strictly, and that they must put in more effort than they have been in order to succeed in this class.
Reflections:
I think that by being a strict honors teacher, my CT gets her point across that by being in these more challenging classes, the game of school will not work. The students signed a contract in the beginning of the year that proved they acknowledged the fact thatbthisnis a more challenging class and they must be willing as students to put in more effort than they have been required to do so in the past. Taking an honors class requires that the student gives up habits of "appearing" to be engaged and actually try. Ms. Malone follows the schools policy on rules and regulations, as well as expects the most from her students. In this way, she resists the game of school and communicates to the students that they will not float by and get an A if they are only willing to put in the minimum amount of work required. Upon reading about the game of school, I learned as a teacher how simple techniques can communicate to the students that they must give a valiant effort. As a semi recent high school graduate, I hope to recognize ways students will cut corners, cheat, and slack off. By remembering common trends of students, I hope to be preventative in my actions and only reactive if I see something occurring in front of me. I plan to minimize cell phone usage by making sure eye contact is made with each individual student. I plan to check that students are on task by asking thought provoking questions, and I plan to give home works and assignments that foster higher level of blooms taxonomy thinking so students cannot copy and cheat.
Class Topic: skull anatomy
Grade: 12th
Observed by: Kathryn Capone
Interesting points about both rules and worksheets. Why do you think the authors were critical of worksheets? Now that you have some experience, what distinguishes an engaging worksheet from a disengaging one? -
Revise YOUR TEACHING RATIONALE BY CLICKING ON THE EDIT BUTTON BELOW
My teaching philosophy includes two aspects, goals for me, and goals for my students and classroom. Some of my personal goals as a teacher are to ask more questions than I give answers, and to engage the students with the content of the lesson. By asking more questions I hope to dig into their curiosities and have them formulate their own answers based on prior knowledge. I hope to engage the students by connecting the subject matter to their lives so they can draw connections with themselves and the material they are responsible to learn. I also want to have patience. An impatient teacher creates an uptight environment where students may be afraid to answer a question in fear it will be wrong. I think all of these things are especially important to me and would fill my final desire to have my students enjoy the subject that I teach them.
As a teacher I find it important that students develop confidence in themselves. I hope to do this by modeling and coaching them along the way, but an important step in my teaching philosophy is to eventually step back. In doing so, I hope my teaching has been enough for the students to perform on their own. This is especially important if I plan on teaching an AP Biology class because eventually the students will have to pass the AP test without my help. I hope my teaching will create an "I can do it!" spirit and attitude towards any major science tests, and in life. I also believe students need to become critical thinkers, such an important aspect in the science field. I want students not just to look at a question and answer it, I want them to wonder why? and what if I did this differently? or how would A affect B? By becoming a critical thinker they will develop an inquiring mind where every problem is an interesting investigation waiting to be solved and scientifically proven. It's important students are able to communicate their thinking and solutions to problems clearly and correctly because I feel the process is just as important as the outcome. Students should create hypotheses that they can properly investigate using the scientific method to do so. Also, I'm eager to develop an understanding of how what they do in my class applies to the real world. I remember often thinking in school "when will I ever need to do this again?", which demotivates students to learn. I want to radiate that knowledge is power and by learning about science they are learning for the rest of their lives, not just for a certain test in the near future.
This will all hopefully further student's understanding of science and change their lives forever. Maybe they will decide to become brain surgeons one day, or maybe even a rocket scientist.
The following is my ibrainstorm project. I drew it as a sun and flowers because I hope that my goals as a teacher will radiate out and promote the growth and development of my students in the following ways: